Flames hope to get Sarich back

'Hawks expect another battle

Following the Chicago Blackhawks' 3-2 overtime win against the Calgary Flames in Game 1 of their Western Conference Quarterfinals series on Thursday, the team came in for its Friday skate optimistic about its chances to win Game 2. But the Blackhawks are aware that Saturday's contest (9 p.m. ET, TSN) will be another tough battle.

Martin Havlat scored the tying and game-winning goals late in the game as Chicago wore down the Calgary defense, often by going hard toward Miikka Kiprusoff's crease.

"He's one of the best goalies in the League," said Blackhawks winger Patrick Sharp, "And (crashing the net) is how we're going to have to beat him. You've got to get guys in front of him, bump him legally, crowd his area, and try to get in his face as much as possible."

"They tried to create more traffic and obstacles for the goalie," he said. "It's all normal. In the playoffs, players try to go to the net harder. Everybody wants to score a goal, and it's not always the pretty plays, but the second or third opportunities (that go in)."

Jonathan Toews believes the hard hitting that characterized Game 1 will continue Saturday.

"We knew they wanted to play physical, so we expected that and dealt with that," said Toews. "It's playoff hockey and it's expected right now. It's only going to get tougher and the pace is only going to get faster. We know they want some revenge."

CHICAGO -- Down one-game-to-none to the Chicago Blackhawks in their best-of-7 Western Conference Quarterfinals series, the Calgary Flames hope to steal Game 2 on Saturday night at United Center.

Calgary's defense was driven hard in Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss, and the team sure could use Cory Sarich back in the lineup. In 76 games this season, the 30-year-old defenseman posted a plus-12 rating, but he's been out since taking a slap shot off his right ankle March 30.

Keenan, notoriously taciturn with the media, said there were things about his club's performance on Thursday that pleased him.

"You can observe and watch and see that we shut them down pretty well for the first 30 minutes of the game," Keenan said. "I don't think they had a chance to score for the first 30 minutes."

Defenseman Jordan Leopold agreed that his club sagged a bit in the third period, saying, "We gave them a few opportunities in the latter half of the game. We need to take the positives from last night and bury the rest and move forward."

Mike Cammalleri, who scored one of Calgary's goals but also took a poor "retaliation" penalty in the third period, simply noted that "we have to start like we started...and finish like we started."